ZSI identifies 37 threatened mammals by processing about 5K faecal samples

KOLKATA: A real demonstration of monitoring of large and threatened mammals in the Indian Himalayan Region made by the team of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) using the non-invasive genetics has led to the identification of 37 mammals.

"This has been the largest attempt from the Indian Himalayan region (IHR) where team processed nearly 5000 faecal samples of large and threatened mammals covering six study sites namely

Lahaul and Spiti, Uttarkashi, Darjeeling, East Sikkim, West Kameng and East Siang. Altogether, we had at least one site each that represented all biotic provinces of the Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan Biogeographic zones," Mukesh Thakur, ZSI scientist said.

"We observed low to moderate levels of genetic variability in 13 mammalian species and most species exhibited stable demographic histories," he added.

Thakur along with Lalit Sharma who heads the GIS & Wildlife Section of ZSI coordinated the project activities.

Dhriti Banerjee, Director ZSI said that this ambitious study has laid the biggest step of ZSI in the Indian Himalayan Region, and made a benchmark to be followed.

She assured that no parallel work has ever been done in India under one single project as far as the number of species studied genetically with the use of faecal samples.

She congratulated the team for the greatest non-invasive genetic survey of India for large mammals.

"Certainly, this type of deliverable is only possible with the strong determination, pervasiveness, clarity of vision and unbiased contribution/coordination of all the team members," Banerjee added.

The project was funded under the large grant category of National Mission on Himalayan Studies of the Ministry of Environment,

Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), where over 30 research scholars from ZSI were involved in the project.

The study has estimated an unbiased population genetic account for 13 species that may be monitored after a fixed time interval to understand species

performance in response to the landscape changes.

The study published in the "Science of the Total Environment" shows the pragmatic permeability with the representative sampling in the

IHR in order to facilitate the development of species-oriented conservation and management programmes.